Hoping for Miracles
by Akane Inouye
Summary: She's been searching for miracles all her life, but found none. He's had many miracles through out his life, but never tresaured any of them. A malevolent twist of fate brought them together. Can a miracle happen to them?


A.N: Hello! I finally have enough time to start this… sign… I've been so busy these days! Anyways, this fanfiction is completely AU, the characters are from CCS and they're not really OCC, but that's about it. So if you don't like AU, I'm sorry…Anyway, this fanfiction will have both Sakura and Syaoran's POV, the odd number chapters will be Sakura's POV and the even numbers will be Syaoran's.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, CLAMP does, don't sue.

Summary: She's been searching for miracles all her life, but found none. He's had many miraclesthrough out his life, but never treasured any of them. Amalevolent twist of fate brought them together; can a miracle happen to them?

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Hoping For Miracles 

Chapter one: Sakura

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"Ice-cream, Ice-cream! Free samples of our new Blue-Raspberry Vanilla Ice-cream!" A middle aged woman yelled at the top of her lungs in front of her diminutive ice-cream shop. 

I turned toward the busy crowd that was starting form in front of the Ice-cream shop. It was just strange really, we've already reached the 21st century, yet there were still people that put up ice-cream stands out side there own store. I guessit's easier to sell that way. When I was young, mother would always bring me to go grocery shopping with her; on the way home, we would always stop by Reida-san's ice-cream booth and get free ice-cream. She would look down at me with her kind emerald eyes and ask," How's that taste Sakura?" And I would always just giggle that childish, innocent laugh from a happy seven year old girl. Mother said that Reida-san gave us ice-cream because he was a nice guy, but the truth was he gave us free ice-cream because he used have this huge crush on mother. Until that is, she married father, Toya used to tell me all about it. Well, you can't blame Reida-san for liking my mom, who wouldn't? With her long slender figure, curly brown hair, and that big welcoming smile… any normal man would've fallen head over heels in love with her. And that was all my father was, just a normal man with a talent in architecture.

Mother and Father was such a wonderful match, they met when mom was just seventeen, and dad was still a teacher back then. With Father's ashen eyes and sophisticated glasses, mom immediately felt attracted to him. It was a forbidden romance between a teacher and a student. The fact that it was forbidden bought mom and dad even closer together, they were married two years later in a small ceremony with close friends. Toya was born a year later, and I was born five years after that. I've heard this story at least 100 times from father; after all, it was my favorite bed time story. Toya had said that I was just a doted on brat, but I never cared about what he said. I had a small happy family, and many close friends, I was content… everyone was content.

I continued to walk along the busy streets of Tokyo when I found a small architectural company; the building looked insignificant, but had a welcoming vibe to it. I peeked through a window of the building and found a small, fragile man sitting at the front desk; he seemed to be looking at a couple of blue prints. By his left hand was a small cup of tea, steam was coming out of it. Father used to have a small architectural company too; he used to drink green tea when he was checking over his blue prints as well. Once, when I was running in his room, I accidentally tipped his tea cup. With out knowing if the tea had ruined dad's blue print or not, I immediately started to cry, for I assumed that a firm slap would soon reach my cheeks. In spite of this, several minutes passed and I didn't feel a thing on my cheeks; instead a hand was gently caressing my head while a comforting voice reached my ears… "Look, Sakura, daddy's papers are ok!" I was so relieved to hear those words from dad that I never even questioned them. Not until years later would I realize that on that day, I had probably ruined what had been several months of my dad's hard work.

The man that was working at the front desk suddenly looked up and grinned at me. Out of respect, I smiled back and moved on. As I strolled down the street that led to my apartment, the noise level started to evaporate. I had chosen the apartment for this very reason. This area was probably the only place in Tokyo where you can get a good night of sleep with out worrying about robbery. Not that I'm scared ofrobbers, we've had plenty of them back then. The air is also not as contaminated, that's good for Father's illness. I opened the door to our apartment and walked in, it was on the first floor, which is also good for father, for stairs might not be very convenient for him. As I took off my shoes and left my purse by the door, I noticed the apartment was very dark, shadows cast over the whole place. Yet, I smelled the aroma of miso soup coming out of the kitchen. I put on my slippers, and walked toward the smell. I wasn't surprised to find father peeling an apple in the darkness.

I heard dad greet me as I turned on the lights in the kitchen, he didn't even blink from the change of brightness. His smiling face was turned towards me but his eyes seemed to be staring into nothingness. It was the same everyday.

"Dad, I told you to turn on the lights when you work… didn't I?" I took a glass from the kitchen drawer and filled it with ice and water, nothing's better than that after a hot summer day.

"Yes dear, you did. But what's the point? I can work just fine in the darkness, it makes no difference to me anymore…I'm just saving electricity." He smiled again as he answered my question, though his eyes had no focus, I could tell that he was smiling at me…

Nonetheless, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't bring myself to smile at him, my mouth twitched as I forced it to move upwards, it was all I could manage. My eyes were glancing at a picture of mom, her sparkling eyes beamed back at me. The longer I looked the more I could feel the corners of my lips once again forming a frown.

"Dad, I don't want to "save" electricity, I can pay for the bills just fine now that I have my new job. Lymphoma is curable, you're already on remission, and it's just a matter of time before we find a way to make your eyes better. So don't be so depressing!"

My dad continued to smile at me, I don't understand, what is there to smile at? Eighteen years had passed since our family broke apart, what is there to smile at now? Father's eyes have no shine in them, they were now a murky gray, and the corner of his eyes has a splash of deep wrinkles from years of battling cancer. His once chestnut brown hair was now streaked with white and his once big, strong hands were shaking slightly from fatigue.

"You're such a sweetheart Sakura! But…" And he is still trying to comfort me, still trying to make jokes, still trying to bring a happy smile to my stoic facade.

"Dad, I don't want to see you working in the dark ever again. It's pitiful… Tell me when dinner is ready, I'm going to pack." I turned away from him and headed for my room, I don't want see what kind of expression he has on now… whatever it is, it will never reach his eyes.

I opened my opaque curtains in my room; the stars are still there, they were still hanging on to the mystical night sky… nothing has changed since that day. On the day of Toya's 12th birthday, many things changed. My mom had announced that she was pregnant with a third child, and that it was going to be born in seven months. My dad was going to make the announcement of us moving to a bigger house since his company was going to expand. It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives with many more to come… I smirked at the thought of how foolish I had been. For in the end, it became the worst day of our lives. On that day, with one anonymous phone call, everything changed. Father had just gotten home from work. On his right hand, he held a big vanilla ice-cream birthday cake. It was for Toya. Mother had rushed to the door to welcome him. I remember them walking into the living room, hand in hand; they both had joyous smiles on their faces. Toya and I had been fighting over who got the biggest piece of cake, and mother had been laughing at our childlike acts.

That's when the phone ringed.

I remember that after he gave my mom a kiss on the cheeks, dad got up to pick up the phone. He had done it so mindlessly, as if the call was just going to make our day even better. Even so, reality is cruel, after a few minutes, my father's smile faded and his eyes narrowed. Even as a small child, I knew something was wrong. Mom had got up from the table and walked over to where dad was standing, she looked at him in the eye and dad started to whisper to her. All I could make out from there hushed conversation were the words "He… sold… bought by Li Cooperation… canceled…"

The next thing I knew, dad had rushed out the house, and mom had told us to go to bed. Toya, who didn't know anything, ran to his room and slammed the door. I guess that he thought that we didn't want to celebrate his birthday. With his short temper, I wondered even now what he had done when he found out what had happened that day. As I skipped to my room and closed the door behind me, I would've never thought about the fact that this night would be the last time I would ever see my mom alive… In one day, I lost three of my most beloved, my mom, my unborn baby sister, and Toya, who is missing to this day.

What had happened afterwards, I do not recall. I woke up one month after that faithful day in the hospital. By that time, the only person that was at my bed side was my dad. In one month, his face had aged at least ten years. The doctors had diagnosed me with Hysterical amnesia. This covers episodes of amnesia linked to psychological trauma. It is usually temporary and can be triggered by a traumatic event with which the mind finds it difficult to deal. Supposedly, I was going to remember in a few days, yet it has been eighteen years, and I still don't recall a thing. I tried to ask father about it, but every time I do, he starts to cry. I have given up on finding the answer with my dad. I hope that one day, my memory will return and I will find out what caused my mother's death and Toya's disappearance.

Three years after the incident, at the age of ten, my dad was diagnosed with Lymphoma, a form of eye cancer. We had lost everything we owned by that time, the house, the company, our lavish furniture, even our cat, Kero. Dad was working for an architectural company; the pay was just high enough to keep us from starving and to get me occasional presents from dad. You can imagine what happened afterward, father had to get chemotherapy and was hospitalized for months, it prevented him from going to work, thus after one year of being on sick leave, he was laid off by the company. We had to move into a smaller apartment, toys and new clothing were out of the question.

Life is a cruel game; I found that out at the age of fourteen.

People may find this incongruous, but after three years, we had spent almost all of dad's life savings from all the way back when he was a teacher. Life became even worse than before, to keep the landlady from kicking us out of our already pint-sized apartment and pay for dad's heavy hospital bill, I had to become an adult at age fifteen. I went straight to work after school ended, my jobs started at a grocery store and ended in a pub; I got home every night around midnight. From there, I went straight to homework. Keeping my grades high enough for a scholarship was a challenge. Though I considered dropping out, dad strictly forbid it, he even threatened to "run away" from the hospital if I ever dared the thought again. I protested against his decision, the burden was too heavy for me to carry alone. Yet, in a way, I was glad that he thought that I should keep on going to school; it was only place I could rest and forget about my problems. I never had time for a boyfriend or clubs; all the money I ever got from work went straight to my dad's hospital bills and the apartment. New clothes and shoes? Out of the question. During the time dad was in the hospital getting cancer treatment, he lost his eye sight; first his left, then his right. I remember this crystal clear because it was the first time I saw my father ever shed a single tear. He was always so optimistic, seeing him cry broke my heart. Looking at the life I have now, people would laugh and think that it was a joke if I ever told them of my adolescence. As a first-class female architect that graduated early at Cornell University (through scholarship) at age twenty-five, I was suppose to have a perfect adolescence, I'm assumed to be from a wealthy family, and my parents were believed to be well-educated aristocrats. In high school, I was thought to be the most popular girl in school, with a huge group of friends just like me. I've never worked once until the age of twenty. I sighed quietly, that is why I've never told anyone about my past…I just let my colleagues use their imagination.

I looked around the room I have now, the sophisticated ivory walls, queen sized bed, and 42 inch plasma T.V, and the fresh flowers on my night stand … it was everything I had wished for since childhood. There is no evidence in this room that points to my cruel history; nevertheless, my past can never be altered. After that day where I nearly escaped death, my life was handed over to a sensation called Sorrow. After all those years, dad and I seemed to have finally found a place to start over, the two of us are gradually settling down to our new surroundings. The pain still lingers, the happiness I felt at age seven can never return, but I've been feeling more peaceful these days. However, I can not relax now, for there is still one thing I need to accomplish before that.

Tomorrow, father and I are going on a trip; I don't think that we'll be returning for a while. Three months ago, I applied for a position in Hong Kong, the Li Cooperation. Though they do business in many areas, their main focus is real estate. In the last thirty years, this company has been gradually growing in to a top contender in the world of real estate. With the little fame I have in Japan, the company decided to hire me. Hong Kong has many distinguished doctors in the areas of cancer; I hope that moving to Hong Kong can be some help to my dad's illness. And of course, there is that one other thing…

"Sakura… dinner! You want to miss your miso soup and udon noodles do you? "

Dad's voice distracted my train of thoughts; I quickly answered him and started out my room. I should probably apologize to him for being so disrespectful before. Father is such a kind man, I'm sure he'll forgive me.

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While I helped my dad into a seat by the window on Air China, a middle aged Chinese stewardess sauntered by and asked in slightly accented Japanese if I needed any help of with the luggage. I in return replied in perfect Mandarin, "I'm fine, thank you." After staring at me for a moment, her polite smile had returned, and thus she moved on to the next person. Just when I was going to take my seat, a young Chinese man with chocolate brown hair and amber eyes strolled in from first-class, he had on a white cotton blouse that was somewhat unbuttoned, his tie was loosened from his neck and his apathetic face had a tint of redness to it. I watched him walk past me to the Stewardess that had just tried to help me. As the men lowered his head to whisper to the Stewardess, his arm bumped vaguely on an elderly man's head, he didn't even seem to notice it. My eyes narrowed as the man and the stewardess (now apologizing repeatedly) walked past aged passenger without giving him even a small acknowledgement to the fact that he had just rudely hit him. This man has no respect whatsoever! 

The rest of the six hour flight went without much interruption, father slept through most of it, waking up only when the middle-aged stewardess returned (her poise had returned by then) to give us dinner.

I fastened dad's seat belt when the automatic voice came on in Mandarin, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now preparing to land, please fasten your seat belts. The weather in Hong Kong today is sunny, with a slight chance of rain. The temperature in Hong Kong is currently 39C…"

I sat up straight in my seat…after all these years… at last I have arrived at the place I wanted to be for eighteen years. This is it… this is the place where the people who destroyed my life resides.

I am going to work for the richest family in all of china… I am fulfilling my dream… I am going to take revenge.

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Author's Note: Yah! I'm done with the first chapter! I was going to right more… but in the end I decided to leave it as a cliff hanger. So… how was it? I hope you all liked it. This idea came to me one night when I was watching a Korean drama. Next chapter will be in Syaoran's POV…look for it! 

HELP: If any of you know Sakura and Syaoran's birthday, please tell me! Also, I need the names and if possible, the ages of Syaoran's four sisters …or their names from oldest to youngest. Please tell me, it's important for this story! Thank you all very much for taking your time and reading this.

One more thing... if you can, please tell me how to do make paragraph indents appear on this site... sigh...


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